Chapter Text
[A Beautiful Song – NieR: Automata begins to play]
The force of the note blasted through the air, shaking the floor beneath their feet as the theatre trembled violently.
Aqua stumbled back, shielding her face from the sheer pressure of the sound. 2B and 9S held their ground, their black visors sparing their eyes, but even they couldn't fully comprehend what they were seeing.
"What is this?" 2B demanded, disbelief cracking through her normally calm tone.
"No data of similar type found in combat records," reported Pod 042.
The Songstress, Simone, began to rise. Her thrusters ignited with a low, guttural hum as her enormous frame lifted from the ground. She glided forward, the crimson veil rippling behind her like silk.
"A mutated unit!" 9S exclaimed.
"Move!" Aqua shouted.
The group scattered just as Simone slammed down where they'd been standing. The impact shattered the ground, a shockwave of dust and broken stone blasting outward in a blinding cloud.
"Pod, covering fire!" 2B commanded, sliding backwards across the cracked floor.
"Affirmative."
"You too, Pod!" 9S shouted.
"Engaging target."
The two Androids split without hesitation, 2B circling clockwise while 9S took the opposite flank. Their Pods spun into formation above them, unleashing a rapid hail of energy fire. Beams rained down on Simone's body, lighting up the air with a staccato rhythm of crimson sparks.
Aqua watched their formation, reading the flow of their movement. A three-pronged assault, simple, but effective.
"Now!" she called, sprinting forward.
Aqua leapt into the fray, her Keyblade trailing a streak of light as it cleaved through the air. Her strike connected with the centre of Simone's massive frame just as the Pods' barrage ceased. For a fleeting moment, Aqua glimpsed red eyes flickering deep within the Machine's core—cold, unblinking, aware.
2B struck from the right, her blade slicing across the plating with surgical precision. 9S mirrored from the left, his short sword sparking against reinforced steel.
The three impacts landed in perfect rhythm, with sparks exploding outward like fireworks. However, the blows barely left a dent.
"That did nothing!" Aqua cried, landing hard and skidding back.
"Beauuutiful… I must become… beautiful!" Simone shrieked, her soprano voice warping into a garbled, mechanical howl.
"Beautiful?" mused Aqua.
Without warning, the unit launched herself at Aqua in a sudden rush of momentum.
"Aqua!" 9S cried out in alarm. "MOVE!"
Sensing the danger, Aqua dropped into a swift cartwheel, narrowly dodging the charge.
The shockwave rumbled through the ground, forcing Aqua into a reflexive Doubleflight. She flipped skyward, gaining altitude, and in a single motion, levelled her Keyblade towards the Songstress's chest.
"Fire!" she commanded.
A burst of Firaga erupted from the Keyblade's tip, the fireball striking dead-centre on the smaller machine nestled within Simone's centre.
The spell forced Simone back, flames dancing across her front. It wasn't much, but Aqua saw it, the heat and concussive force had scorched part of the frame. It was something at least.
While the Songstress faltered, the two Androids took their chance. 2B and 9S darted in from either side, Pods unleashing another volley. They slashed in tandem — left, right — trying to breach Simone's defences from the ground.
But again, their blades met steel and resistance. Sparks flew, but the armour held. Not even a scratch.
Aqua landed lightly on the cracked floor as Simone recoiled from the magic's impact. The Machine's core hummed ominously, then her chest cavity split open once more. A surge of energy rippled outward as dozens of glowing orbs spiralled into formation, evenly spaced, like stars forming a constellation.
"Incoming projectiles!" warned 2B.
The orbs launched in unison, a swirling barrage that danced through the air in perfect rhythm.
It wasn't just an attack. It was choreography, a deadly performance.
2B slashed through the first wave, her blade slicing cleanly through two orbs before they exploded in bursts of blue. 9S ducked and rolled, deflecting one mid-spin and cutting another apart in midair. The two Androids moved with precision, their reflexes sharp enough to weave between death itself.
Aqua matched their pace, her movements flowing like water. She spun, parrying one orb, then swatted another aside, sending it crashing into the far wall where it burst in a shower of sparks.
Gaining distance, she steadied herself. Her Keyblade flickered again—unstable—but she held firm.
"Fire!" she shouted, swinging the blade in a wide arc.
A burst of Firaga ignited midair, slamming into the incoming wave. The resulting explosion consumed half the barrage, filling the theatre with a thunderous roar and clouds of burning smoke.
Through the haze, a massive silhouette emerged charging fast.
"Look out!" 9S shouted.
Simone burst through the smoke. Aqua barely had time to react. She twisted aside, flipping into a fluid series of cartwheels as the Songstress slammed into the wall with a deafening crash. The impact left a crater-like dent, spiderwebs of cracks spreading outward.
Seeing an opening, 2B darted forward into the chaos Aqua had created. With preternatural speed, she dashed up a toppled column and launched herself into the air. Twisting mid-flight, blade outstretched, 2B cleaved downward in a spinning arc, aiming straight for Simone.
The katana met resistance as her weapon clanged against something solid beneath.
Simone's metallic skirt parted, revealing a tangle of hidden limbs: spidery, mechanical arms extending from beneath her frame, each ending in jagged tools or repurposed android parts. One snapped upward with blinding precision, intercepting 2B's strike and knocking her off balance mid-flight.
A second limb lashed out.
CRASH!
The blow struck 2B squarely, sending her careening through the air. She crashed into a row of velvet-upholstered seats, the impact splintering wood and sending dust billowing into the air.
"2B!" 9S shouted.
Relief hit him as she stirred, groaning, brushing debris from her dress.
Simone's head twisted toward the sound of 9S's voice.
"Not… yet… not yet beautiful enough!" she shrieked.
"Why does she keep saying, beautiful?" Aqua demanded, rushing to 9S's side.
"I don't know," 9S admitted, voice strained as he raised one hand. His gloved fingers spread. "But I'm going to hack into—"
He didn't finish.
A loud hiss tore through the air as the panels across Simone's chest slid open. From within, a halo of neon-purple energy spun into existence—rings of pure data light expanding outward in perfect synchronisation with her mechanical heartbeat.
The pulse struck hard.
"Hold on, are we being hacked?!" 9S yelled, voice tight with strain.
Aqua gasped, stumbling back as her vision blurred and her limbs numbed. Static crackled across her senses, pressure closing in around her like deep water.
For 9S, the sensation was worse. Cold needles flooded his neural network, corrupting lines of code as a foreign signal clawed its way into his firewalls.
Simone was hijacking them from within.
Aqua, unaugmented, was spared the digital infection, but not the emotional backlash.
"Focus!" she hissed, forcing the words through clenched teeth. But her head throbbed violently. Her free hand flew to her temple as she staggered, barely keeping her footing. "How… is she doing this to me?!"
Nearby, 9S dropped to one knee, his vision scrambled by a flood of corrupted code.
"Nngh… st-stop…" 9S groaned, clawing at the side of his head.
Suddenly there was motion. A blur of black and white.
2B dashed forward. With one clean arc of her blade, she sliced through the nearest pulse of corrupt energy. The digital ring fractured instantly, bursting into a cloud of glimmering pixels that dissolved like mist.
Aqua gasped as clarity snapped back, the phantom pressure vanishing in an instant.
Across from her, 9S's breath came ragged and shallow, his systems gradually stabilising.
2B reached him, placing a firm hand on his back as he steadied himself.
"9S!"
"2B…" His voice trembled, raw with pain, as though dragging himself out of a thunderstorm.
"Th-thank you," Aqua panted, hands braced on her knees as she fought to steady her breathing. She looked up at 2B, gratitude softening her expression.
2B gave a curt nod. Her visor hid her eyes, but her stance radiated strength and resolve.
Then the sound changed.
A distorted whirring filled the air.
The trio turned as Simone's movements began to falter. Her upper half convulsed, stuttering unnaturally, gears grinding against themselves. Sparks rained down her torso as she twisted and jerked like a broken marionette.
"Her behaviour is—" Aqua began, but 9S interrupted.
"Why do you keep calling it her or she?" he asked, voice sharp but weary.
"Because she feels," Aqua answered. "Because something inside her believes she's more than a machine."
9S was taken aback but didn't answer. Meanwhile, 2B's eyes tracked Simone's faltering frame.
"Whatever 'she' is—they're open," she remarked, tone firm.
With a sudden burst of speed, 2B sprinted towards Simone. She vaulted off the ground and launched herself high into the air. Twisting, she reeled her katana back—then brought it down with all her strength.
The blade struck true, cleaving through Simone's chest plating with a shriek of tearing metal. A blinding flash erupted from within—the Machine ripped open to reveal a pulsating yellow light deep inside.
"Ahhhhhh!" The Songstress wailed, a sound equal parts scream and aria.
Sparks flew from her body like fireflies as she staggered back, her immense frame trembling.
2B landed hard on her feet.
"The core!" she shouted.
"If we can destroy that—" 9S started, but Aqua's warning cut him short.
"Wait, something's happening!"
Simone's posture shifted again. Her massive hands clutched at her chest, covering the exposed core. She doubled over, voice breaking into static and distortion.
"I will… I will become… more… and more… beautiful!" she groaned.
Her limbs trembled violently as she began to rise again. Then, with a shuddering snap, her upper body jerked upright. She threw her arms wide, head tilting back toward the shattered ceiling.
The cry that followed was no longer a song.
It was a scream, piercing, glitched, and impossibly loud.
Then came the next horror.
With a thunderous groan, several girders crashed down from above, slamming into the ground in a ring around her like a grotesque ritual circle.
Attached to each one… were bodies.
Tied crudely, grotesquely, to the metal—humanoid forms stripped of dignity. Synthetic skin torn open to reveal exposed metal cybernetics and raw artificial muscle. Some were missing limbs; others had their arms bound above their heads, torsos tied or wired to the steel.
Aqua's eyes widened in horror. One in particular caught her gaze — a female, bound with her hands stretched high, waist tied tight against the girder.
"What are they…?" she uttered, voice trembling.
"…Android corpses?" 9S stammered, disbelief colouring his tone.
A shiver ran through Aqua's body, crawling up her spine.
If she still had a heart, it would be racing.
Suddenly, the corpse she had been staring at moved.
Its head jerked upright. Eyes flared a violent red.
The mouth stretched open in an unnatural scream, and a shockwave exploded outward.
Aqua gasped and leapt back instinctively, the blast tearing past where she'd stood.
All around the ring, more bodies began to twitch. One by one, they convulsed into motion, red light blazing through their sockets. The theatre filled with mechanical shrieks as bursts of energy erupted from their mouths in chaotic, discordant rhythm.
The trio scattered immediately, dodging and weaving as shockwaves tore through the stage.
"Is it using the corpses to attack?!" 2B shouted, circling to flank.
"No, it's worse!" 9S yelled back. "Black-box signals confirmed! They've been altered into weapons, and they're still alive!"
Aqua's breath hitched. "Still… alive?"
She ducked behind toppled debris as another shockwave blasted towards her. Instinct took over — cartwheeling, rolling, flipping through the surging waves of sound and force.
Every motion was survival. Her mind reeled with horror. "They're alive… still thinking, still feeling—enslaved into this…"
She vaulted upward, Doubleflight propelling her high above the chaos. From that fleeting height, she saw it all, the madness in full.
Simone hadn't merely corrupted herself. She had twisted others, turning what was once sacred into a grotesque theatre of vanity and control.
"Is this what she means by becoming more beautiful…?" Aqua said sombrely, her emotions sinking.
Across the chaos, 2B continued to dart between the glowing shockwaves. Her Pod hovered overhead, calm and detached.
"Proposal: Retreat," it intoned.
2B slid to a halt, katana snapping outward with defiance.
"Proposal denied!" she snapped sharply.
Aqua landed hard, boots skidding across fractured ground. She barely had time to process what came next, only the rising hum of power and the shadow of Simone's next devastating move.
2B launched forward, moving with terrifying speed. Her feet barely touched the ground as she carved through the battlefield — slashing, stabbing, dismantling the bound android corpses in sweeping, graceful strikes. Each movement was a masterclass in lethal elegance.
Aqua watched, transfixed. Her blue eyes shimmered as the eruptions from destroyed bodies lit the theatre in bursts of fire and falling sparks.
The captive androids retaliated, their mouths opening wide to emit more distorted shockwaves, but 2B dodged each pulse with flawless timing, weaving between attacks like a phantom. Then, with one final leap, she brought her blade down on another bound android, cleaving it cleanly in two.
"She's… destroying them," Aqua whispered, voice hollow with conflict.
There was no sadism in 2B's strikes. Just resolve, the unbearable weight of duty carried by someone who knew there was no other way.
"They were still alive… and yet… this is mercy, isn't it?" Aqua thought.
As 2B rushed forward towards Simone, dodging and waving other shockwaves from nearby corpses, the Songstress again released more energy spheres, trying to tackle and slow her down. 2B with her agility managed to dodge the wave and slash one, then another.
Seeing another wave begin to form and be released, Aqua features sharpened and her grip on her Keyblade tightening. She couldn't sit back; she had to help and shut the unit down.
Aqua rushed ahead, leaping into the air and slashing away more energy spheres, breaking them apart. She landed as 2B cut through and destroyed another Android corpse weapon, the energy spheres untouched aimlessly hit the walls and seats surrounding them, causing more damage and destruction.
9S skidded to a stop behind his two allies, he raised his gloved hand, and his palm faced Simone's bulky frame.
"I'm going to try hacking in again!" 9S remarked.
"Roger," 2B answered.
The world suddenly shifted for 9S.
His physical body remained upright for one precarious second—then went limp.
The Android's consciousness dove like a spear straight into Simone's internal network, his code dissolving into streams of light as he entered her systems.
2B moved instantly, catching his collapsing form before it hit the ground. She cradled him against her, lowering him carefully to one knee.
"I'll cover you," Aqua said firmly, stepping forward. "Get 9S to safety."
2B adjusted her grip on him, ready to move, but then the air warped.
A warbling hum rolled through the theatre, vibrating through the floor. Red static crawled across the walls like crimson veins.
2B's head snapped up. "The Phantom Ruby!"
Aqua's eyes hardened. "Mephiles!"
Simone froze mid-motion as if the imbalance of reality rattled even her corrupted mind.
Then—
"PRESTO!"
The fabric of space tore open, and three figures burst into existence in a shower of red static.
"No…" Aqua whispered, eyes wide.
Heavy Gunner, Heavy Shinobi, and Heavy Magician—the Egg Heavies—had arrived once more.
Their arrival hit the battlefield like a punchline to a cruel and unfunny joke.
"Oh, come on—NOW!?" Aqua shouted in frustration.
Even 2B stiffened in disbelief.
But Simone's reaction was much worse.
Her head snapped towards the intruders. The mannequins hanging from her halo rattled violently, her internal energy spiked.
"Beauuuuuuuutiful—beau—beau—BEAUTIFUL—!" she glitched viciously.
The final word broke into a shriek of feedback.
A pulse of neon light erupted from her chest cavity—then dozens of red-ring shockwaves spiralled outward.
She swept upward with one massive arm.
WHOOOOSH!
A red ring shot upward.
She swept the other arm.
WHOOOOSH!
Then both arms snapped downward together crashing the rings down in a devastating wave.
"MOVE!" Aqua shouted.
She darted forward and then veered left, using Cartwheel into Doubleflight, narrowly avoiding the crushing rings.
2B sprang backwards with 9S in her arms as the red shockwaves blasted across the theatre.
Meanwhile, Heavy Gunner shot upward, engines flaring as he weaved through incoming shockwaves.
Heavy Shinobi flipped and spun through the chaos with uncanny, mechanical grace.
Close by, Heavy Magician teleported in bursts of glittering static—yet even they struggled to evade the spiralling red destruction.
Simone was completely out of control.
The shockwaves struck the bound android corpses in a chain reaction.
One by one, the bodies ignited, exploding into blooming fireballs that engulfed Simone's frame.
From within the inferno, a voice bellowed:
"Someone… someone help me—!"
Aqua stopped cold, hearing fear in the pleading voice.
But then Simone's tone twisted, her voice deepening into something feral and hungry.
"No. No. No. NO!"
The Songstress's form shuddered violently. Metal plates shifted with horrible squeals, armour grinding against internal mechanisms.
Her metal skirt split apart like opening jaws—revealing spidery mechanical legs beneath her frame.
With a screeching, glitched roar, Simone launched herself into the air.
Aqua backflipped away just in time. 2B rolled sideways, shielding 9S in her arms as Simone crashed down like a meteor.
The ground exploded outward in a ring of shattered stone.
Aqua staggered, turning in disbelief. "She's evolving—?!"
Simone rose on her spider-legs, limbs stabbing into the ground with metallic cracks.
Suddenly—BOOM!
Heavy Gunner fired a volley of shots straight at Simone's head.
With Simone distracted, Shinobi darted behind her, swinging his katana in a sweeping arc.
Swiftly after, Heavy Magician unleashed a burst of sparkling, multicoloured energy that slammed into the giant Machine.
"What the—? They're attacking her?!" Aqua shouted over the chaos, still sprinting to gain distance.
2B ducked another shockwave as she ran. "They shouldn't have independent reactions!"
"Then why are they—"
Aqua didn't finish.
Because at that moment, Simone turned her attention fully onto the Egg Heavies.
The Songstress lashed out, her massive spider-limbs swinging wide, smashing Heavy Shinobi clean across the theatre.
He hit the far wall in a burst of red static and vanished instantly.
Heavy Gunner fired wildly next, trying to maintain distance, but Simone leapt impossibly high and slammed him mid-air.
Red static burst outward—another Heavy gone.
Heavy Magician was the last one standing. She teleported behind Simone and sent another spell, but the machine snatched her mid-cast with one spider-limb, crushing her like brittle porcelain.
Red static erupted, and the Magician was no more.
All the Heavy illusions were now destroyed.
Aqua skidded to a halt, chest rising and falling. "…She tore through them like they were nothing."
"We need to use this distraction while it lasts," 2B remarked firmly.
"Keep 9S safe!" Aqua yelled.
"Understood!"
With that, Aqua sprinted forward.
Simone shrieked again, a jarring mixture of soprano and machine static.
Her limbs thrashed in all directions as systems glitched from 9S's intrusion.
Aqua could feel it—the battlefield growing more unstable each second. Simone's aura crackled with black-box corruption. The Phantom Ruby distortions thickened in the air. And somewhere…she could sense Mephiles.
"This is getting out of hand…" Aqua thought grimly.
She slid behind crumbling scenery, dodging a spray of debris.
Then her eyes burned with sudden clarity. "I need to end this. Right now."
Her hand trembled. Light flickered around her fingers as she raised her Keyblade. There was one spell that could obliterate Simone in one devastating hit.
Ultima.
Aqua swallowed hard. The magic pulsed across her palm in a warning throb.
Ultima defeated Zodick. It annihilated Ultimecia's time illusions. The spell could level this entire theatre—maybe the whole Amusement Park.
But also, Aqua knew the attack would drain her.
If Mephiles appeared right after this fight, she'd have no chance against him depowered. And everyone she cared about in White Space would be in danger.
"No," she uttered, gripping her Keyblade tight enough to ache. "Not yet. I can't waste it…"
Light pulsed weakly—her heartless chest aching with the memory of connection.
Her eyes widened in clarity. "Yes…"
Aqua closed her eyes, centring herself. Her breathing slowed, form stilled—
FWOOOM—!
A burst of shimmering blue light erupted around her.
Aqua's body blurred, fracturing into streaks of light until her shape became fluid, ethereal, beautiful in motion.
Ghost Drive.
"This ends now!" Aqua remarked, her eyes snapping open.
Suddenly, she vanished from sight, surging forward, blue light trailing behind her like a comet. Simone shrieked, swinging several spider-limbs in desperate arcs, but Aqua slipped between them in a blur of afterimages.
Aqua vanished—then reappeared behind Simone—then above her—then directly in front of the Songstress.
"HYAAH!" Aqua cried out.
Her Keyblade slashed across the central seam of Simone's torso, leaving a glowing X-shaped fracture. Sparks rained like starlight.
Simone lurched, armour groaning as the inner plates buckled.
"Noooooo!"
"Take this!"
A wave of force blasted from the Keyblade's tip, striking dead-centre on Simone's chest.
Metal split. Plates peeled back and the core inside her flickered into view.
Aqua's breath hitched, dropping back down to the ground. "There…!"
Now safely up in the rafters, 2B caught the moment instantly.
The Android had dragged 9S to a safe location above the battlefield, shielding him behind scaffolding.
"Pod!" 2B commanded sharply.
Pod 042 rotated into position above her, its targeting lens narrowing.
"Affirmative."
"Fire!"
At the exact same moment—Aqua crouched low before springing up into the air again, light pooling around her boots like liquid blue fire.
"Prism Rain!" she cried out, the Keyblade pointing dead centre at the core.
The attack spiralled with perfect accuracy, converging on Simone's exposed core.
Pod 042's searing laser beam fired simultaneously.
The two attacks collided with the core at the same instant, sending Simone skidding back, buckling under the pressure.
But it wasn't just the physical blows that broke the Machine.
Deep within the digital sea of her network, 9S reached the centre. He tore through the final layers of corrupted data—the obsession, the madness, the desperate screaming need for validation—and drove his sword straight into her consciousness. The Android severed the command to fight, shattering the loop of her despair.
Outside, Simone froze up.
Her limbs went silent. Her halo stuttered, and the mannequins that hung became slack.
Then—in a strangely soft voice, clear as glass—
"I am now… beautiful."
Suddenly, the world went blindingly white.
Sound vanished as the light swallowed everything. Time seemed to halt, a single frozen beat of stillness.
All of a sudden, an explosion hit—
BOOOOOOOOM!
The detonation ripped through the theatre.
A wall of force tore through the rafters, blasting 2B backwards. She hit the deck hard, curling protectively over 9S as debris rained down around them.
Down below—Aqua threw up a Barrier spell with all her strength.
The dome of shimmering light enveloped her just as the explosion washed over her.
Flames crashed against the barrier like a storm at sea. The shockwave hammered her knees, and cracks spiderwebbed across the magical shield—but Aqua held firm, teeth gritted, boots digging into the ground.
A final thunderclap echoed through the ruins—and then silence.
Gradually, the smoke cleared.
Simone was gone. Her body reduced to molten fragments scattered across the floor.
Aqua lowered her Barrier and Keyblade, breath ragged but steady.
Up above, 2B slowly rose, checking 9S, who stirred weakly but was safe.
Aqua looked up at them—and the faintest flicker of relief crossed her tired face.
It was over.
The Songstress's show had finally ended.
Rank: S
Aqua exhaled slowly, letting the last trace of tension bleed from her shoulders—only for something to ripple through her senses, subtle but unmistakable.
A faint glimmer formed in the corner of her vision, a shimmer of pale light threading through the dissipating smoke.
Her eyes lifted, narrowing as the glow began to take shape above the ruined theatre, suspended in the air like a memory trying to reform.
The Keyhole.
Aqua stepped forward without hesitation, boots crunching over shattered debris.
"There you are," she whispered.
She lifted Royal Radiance and aimed its tip towards the Keyhole.
Light gathered along the blade, spiralling upwards in a steady, elegant stream.
It coiled around her arm like a ribbon caught in a breeze, then surged forward in a focused line.
The beam of light struck the centre of the Keyhole, enveloping it in a warm radiance that grew brighter and brighter until she had to squint against the glow.
A thunderous locking chime echoed through the theatre—deep, final, and resounding. The Keyhole flared once, then sealed itself with a flash of brilliant white.
When the glare faded, the Keyhole was gone—freed at last from White Space's grip.
Aqua lowered her Keyblade, her breath steady and calm, and for the first time since stepping into this strange world, the tension eased—not entirely, but enough for her to feel it.
Enough to know she was still moving forward in the right direction.
Aqua turned to see 2B and 9S descending from the upper scaffolding, their Pods gliding silently beside them. The Androids landed, the debris of battle crunching beneath their weight.
9S stared at the empty space where the Keyhole had been.
"So," he began, his voice laced with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief. "That was your… Keyhole?"
Aqua nodded, dismissing Royal Radiance in a shower of sparks.
"The Keyhole is sealed now," she explained. "The Phantom Ruby… and the emptiness of White Space… they won't be able to touch this place again."
"Analysis:" Pod 042 intoned, hovering near 2B's shoulder. "Threat level from external spatial distortion has been reduced to zero."
"That's good," 9S sighed, relaxing his stance.
Aqua's expression suddenly darkened though. Her gaze drifted away from the Androids, scanning the ruined theatre. The red static was gone, but the memory of that glassy, warbling hum remained.
Mephiles.
She clenched her hand into a fist at her side.
"I've passed your warm-up," she thought, her internal voice cold and resolute.
Now, there was nowhere left to run. Just the final showdown with the being who had stripped away her heart and left her a Nobody.
A heavy silence settled over the group, broken only by the crackle of a dying fire near the stage curtain.
Aqua turned back to the pair, her blue eyes softening as she looked at 9S.
"9S," she said gently. "When you hacked into her… at the end. What did you see?"
"I saw… memories," 9S admitted quietly. "Lots of them."
2B tilted her head slightly. "Memories?"
"The Machine wasn't just malfunctioning," 9S said, his voice trembling with a complex emotion Aqua recognised all too well—pity. "They were… in love."
"Love?" 2B questioned; the word sounding alien. "Machines do not possess emotions, 9S."
"That's what we're told," 9S murmured. "But inside the network… it was all that Machine thought about. There was another machine. A philosopher, I think. Anyway, the machine wanted this 'Jean-Paul' to love them. To acknowledge… her."
He gestured vaguely to the ruins of Simone's body. "They thought… she thought that if she became beautiful, Jean-Paul would finally love her. She studied human history, old records of jewellery and songs. She tried to learn what 'beauty' meant."
Aqua felt a pang of sorrow deep in her emotions. "But she didn't understand it."
"No," 9S shook his head sadly, looking down at the ground. "She thought beauty meant consuming others. Taking their parts. Making herself bigger, louder… more terrifying. She drove herself mad trying to be good enough for someone who never even cared."
9S looked up at Aqua. "That last voice… 'I am beautiful now.' She wasn't talking to us. She was talking to the Machine she loved."
Aqua closed her eyes, letting out a long, shaky exhale.
"It's tragic," she uttered softly. "To want beauty so badly that you destroy yourself trying to become beautiful to seek the love of others."
She looked at the destroyed android corpses that were still visible scattered around—the victims of Simone's twisted affection.
"Darkness isn't just monsters and shadows," Aqua said, her voice echoing in the quiet but broken theatre. "Sometimes… it's just love that's lost its way. It twists you. Makes you do things you'd never dream of, just to stop the pain of being alone."
2B stared at her, the black visor impenetrable. Yet, for a moment, she didn't repeat the command that machines had no souls or hearts. She simply looked at the wreckage, a silent acknowledgment of the horror they had just witnessed.
"Anyway…" 9S started, then hesitated. "We'll report this. Command needs to know about the mutation. And… thank you for your help, Aqua. I'll make sure to keep you off the records like we agreed earlier."
"Thank you," Aqua replied with a small nod.
"We would have been overwhelmed without your assistance," 2B added. It was a curt statement, but coming from her, it was a profound thanks.
Aqua offered them a sad smile. "You two look out for each other. In a world like this… that connection is the most powerful weapon you have."
Before 9S could respond, the atmosphere in the theatre shifted.
The Pods immediately spun around, lasers charging. "Alert: Spatial anomaly detected."
"Another enemy?" 2B snapped, gripping her katana.
"No," Aqua said, her voice dropping an octave. She didn't summon her weapon. She knew this presence. "Not an enemy. Not exactly."
A swirling vortex of darkness opened nearby—a Dark Corridor.
It spiralled open and from within the darkness, the Man in Red appeared.
"Husk," he intoned. His voice was deep, rasping with the weight of someone who had spent too long in the spaces between worlds.
Aqua met his gaze head-on. "You."
"Another human," 9S whispered to 2B, his scanner failing to pull up any ID data on the stranger.
2B only nodded, but her features grew sharper as she listened into the conversation.
"You have lingered here long enough," the Man in Red stated, his tone devoid of warmth. "The window of opportunity is closing."
Aqua stiffened. "Shadow? My variants? Are they—"
"Shadow faces his own finale," the man cut her off sharply. "The Ultimate Lifeform prepares to engage Black Doom. His path is set. Your variants, meanwhile, are freed from their petrified states."
Aqua nodded slowly, the hard line of her mouth softening with relief as she watched the man step closer.
"Your path, however, remains unfinished," he affirmed. "Mephiles awaits. He grows impatient. And I assume you are done playing hero in worlds that do not belong to you?"
Aqua bristled at the insult, but she didn't argue. He was right, though; her work here was done.
"I'm ready," she said simply.
"Good," the man replied as he turned back towards the corridor, the swirling vortex pulsing behind him. "Then come. The time to face the entity who stole your heart draws near. Do not keep destiny waiting."
He stepped into the darkness and vanished, leaving the portal open—a silent invitation to her final showdown with the erased being.
Aqua turned back to the androids one last time.
"I have to go," she said, her voice quiet but resolute.
"Who was that exactly?" 9S asked, eyeing the portal warily.
"A guide," Aqua replied flatly, but she exhaled a small chuckle, shaking her head. "Of a sort. He's… complicated."
She looked at 2B, then at 9S.
"Thank you," she said sincerely. "Fighting beside you… it reminded me that light can be found anywhere. Even in Androids."
9S smiled, a genuine, bright expression that seemed out of place in the gloomy theatre. "Good luck, Aqua. Wherever you're going."
2B stood at attention, giving a sharp, respectful nod.
"Glory to mankind," she remarked—the standard salute, but the weight behind it felt personal.
"Yes," Aqua murmured, turning towards the swirling darkness of the corridor. "Glory to the hearts that endure… May your heart be your guiding key."
The coldness of the Dark Corridor washed over her as Aqua stepped forward.
She walked into the void, the image of the ruined theatre, the two Androids, and their Pods dissolving into shadow behind her.
The portal snapped shut, and Aqua was gone.
And in the silence of the Amusement Park, the only sound left was the wind whistling through the cracks of a broken theatre, singing a beautiful song that never was.